This is totally unrelated to Online Business and stuff, but something freaked me out recently and I thought I should share. Over the weekend, My Girlfriend and I spent the Night at a Hotel in Town. Just after midnight, we heard Someone screaming angrily, threaten to run down the Hotel. On inquiry, he said he said while he was working on his laptop, he could hear tiny beeps coming from the AC Vent area. Decided to check it out and he found a mini-camera, active and recording! (No Jokes)
Long story cut short, the hotel said the camera was meant for the person who lodged in the Room before him. I think he’s about sueing the Hotel and it’s not even funny!?
Listen up!
I don’t know about you, but the thought of Having a Camera spy on me is freaking me out. I decided to write a SHORT Blog Article, detailing How to Scan your Hotel or AirBnb for Hidden Cameras.
#1. Scan the Environment Carefully to Detect Suspicious Hidden Video Cameras
The fastest and non-techy way to locate hidden cameras is by checking around the room and premises carefully. An inch-by-inch search would be helpful to spot “obvious” hidden cameras at the first step.
These are The Most Common Places to Find Hidden Cameras Indoors
- Smoke detectors
- Air filter equipment
- Books
- Wall décor
- Electrical outlets
- Desk plants
- Tissue boxes
- Stuffed teddy bears
- Couch cushions, table tops, and shelves
- DVD cases
- Lava lamps
- Digital TV boxes
- Wall sockets
- Hairdryer holders
- Wall or alarm clocks
- Clothes hooks
- Pens
Most Common Positions to Locate Hidden Cameras & Microphones Outdoors
- House plants
- Holes on the doors
- The roof the house
- The doorbell outside your home
If you notice suspicious wires, lights or lenses, these may be signs of hidden spy cameras. If you find some unusual power outlets or adapters, unplug them immediately.
Also, listen as you walk through the entire room. Some hidden motion-sensing surveillance cameras would make an almost inaudible buzz when in operation.
#2. Turn off the Lights in Your Room to Spot Hidden Night Vision Cameras
Most hidden security cameras have red or green LEDs. The LEDs will blink or shine when in low-light conditions, by turning off the lights in your room, you can use the principle of the night vision security camera to find hidden cameras in your room.
What happens is when in low-light conditions, the LEDs around the camera lens will turn on automatically to supplement the lighting for the cameras in order to produce clear night vision images.
You can follow the below steps to find hidden IP cameras when in dark conditions.
Step 1. Draw the curtains in your room, and turn off the lights.
Step 2. Look around to check whether there are blinking red or green LEDs in your room.
This step here requires no technical skill, its easy to do and spot.
#3. Use Your Mobile Phones to Locate Hidden CCTV Surveillance Cameras
Can you use your mobile phone to locate hidden cameras? The answer is Yes! These days, there’s an app for everything. Looking for an hidden camera? Theres an app for that!
You can either make use of an app or use your iPhone or Android smartphones even without detectors, we will discuss both scenarios below.
Plan A. Use a “Phone Call” to Check for Hidden Cameras & Microphones
Step 1. Make a phone call to someone and have them stay on the line.
Step 2. Walk around your room whilst talking to them. Hidden surveillance cameras would normally would give off a unqiue radio frequency that would interfere with your phone call signal.
If you notice that there is signal interference in a specific place or position, stop and check this place carefully to find out whether there is a hidden security camera there or not.
Plan B. Use a “Mobile App” to Find Hidden Cameras & Listening Devices
Step 1. Install a “detect hidden cameras” app on your iPhone or Android mobile phones. You can get an app like these on the app store.
Step 2. Launch the app on your mobile phone. The detector software will display a red glow when your smartphone approaches a hidden camera. Please note that it will also glow when near other types of hardware with radio frequency.
#4. Get a Professional Detector or Sensor to Spot Hidden CCTV Cameras
Professional RF signal detectors or other bug detectors are quite effective to locate hidden security cameras.
With so much news and articles popping up about hidden cameras in hotels and AirBnb residents, a professional signla detector might not be a bad thing. The goal is to be able to rest easy and crash without worrying if you are being spyed on.
How to Detect Hidden Cameras Using a Detector
1. Buy a professional detector on Amazon or other online stores. There are different price points for these detectors.
2. Turn on the device and do a sweep of your room to detect hidden pinhole video cameras.
Typically the detectors will beep when they detect a signal, giving you an audible indication when you are near a potential camera.
Please note that the RF hidden camera detector typically only picks up a kind of frequency. If the hidden security cameras and other bugs use multiple frequencies changing rapidly, the detector might not detect the presence of an hidden spy cameras.
Good news is that bad guys would not install hidden cameras with complex frequent network signals since this type of hidden spy cameras is much more expensive.
